Chelsea v Tottenham: Premier League – live
Key events
Full time: Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham
Chelsea climb to fourth with a narrow, but deserved victory earned by Enzo Fernández’s second-half header. Moisés Caicedo and Spurs’ Pape Matar Sarr saw goals disallowed by VAR on another tough night for Ange Postecoglou, whose team were distinctly second best.
103 mins: In fact, Chelsea have time to break and Djed Spence joins the yellow-card party with a hack on Madueke. Spurs now have six bookings to Chelsea’s five.
102 mins: Vicario launches it forward, Son collects and finds Tel – but his cross is headed clear by Cucurella. That may be that …
101 mins: Time almost up for Spurs, who are taking far too long to get the ball upfield.
99 mins: Johnson – who was booked moments ago – hoofs the ball into the hoardings, but escapes a second yellow card. Three minutes to go.
98 mins: Bentancur does win a corner now. Can Spurs make it count? No – it’s headed away and Dewsbury-Hall wins a free kick off Johnson.
97 mins: Porro thinks he should have a corner – and he’s right – but badly oversteps the mark by screaming at the assistant referee. He’s booked for his transgression.
96 mins: Halfway through injury time, and this has the feel of two exhausted prize-fighters leaning into each other.
95 mins: Solanke makes a storming run upfield and plays it left to Tel. After it’s worked around the edge of the area it comes back to Tel, Madueke failing to intercept – but the substitute’s cross is easy enough for Sanchez to claim.
94 mins: Vicario comes a long way off his line to get the ball and sidestep Neto, causing Spurs fans a brief moment of panic.
93 mins: Solanke, who’s not had his best game tonight, is penalised for a handball as he tried to bring the ball down.
90 mins: 12 [TWELVE] minutes of stoppage time. Don’t go anywhere! Palmer and Fernandez, architects of the only goal that’s counted so far, are replaced by Tosin Adarabioyo and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
89 mins: From nowhere, Spurs almost equalise! Johnson gets forward down the right and cuts back to Son at the far post, whose shot is on target – but Sanchez gets across to block it. The under-fire keeper is promptly mobbed by his teammates.
88 mins: More Spurs changes, Van de Ven and Maddison replaced by Pedro Porro and Mathys Tel.
86 mins: Pedro Neto is the latest Chelsea name in the book; it’s beem a scrappy, spiky spell of play since Sarr’s disallowed goal.
Worth noting that, when Sarr scored for Spurs, Postecoglou cupped an ear towards the travelling fans who had booed the decision to take Bergvall off. I guess he can claim the point still stands, even though the goal didn’t count.
82 mins: Reece James is coming on for Nicolas Jackson. He slots in at right-back, with Malo Gusto moving upfield – and Gusto immediately tests Vicario with a deep cross towards Madueke, now operating as Chelsea’s centre forward.
80 mins: The wall does its job, getting up to deflect Maddison’s effort behind for a corner, which he will take.
79 mins: Son is well marshalled on the left side, but manages to draw a foul – and Tottenham have a dangerous free kick, 25 yards out …
78 mins: Fernandez gets behind the Spurs defence with an outrageous piece of skill, and sees his cutback saved by Vicario. Tottenham break away …
76 mins: Gusto does well to force a goal kick with Son putting pressure on him. Caicedo and Sarr are still squabbling after those two flashpoints in quick succession.
74 mins: Another Chelsea free kick, which Fernandez takes from the right flank and is cleared away. Robert Sanchez might also be relieved that Sarr’s goal didn’t stand – he should have get kept the shot out.
73 mins: Sarr is booked, Pawson applying salt to the wounds – and then Cucurella gets a yellow card for dissent. This game is bubbling nicely now …
Sarr goal disallowed for Spurs
Replays suggest it was a foul, and the goal should be chalked off – Pawson, perhaps not wanting to overrule his initial instincts, takes his sweet time, but eventually agrees.
SPURS GOAL?! Wow. Moments later, Sarr nicks the ball from Caicedo in midfield, moves forward and hits a low shot that Sanchez can only palm into the roof of the net. Spurs are level, and Chelsea are livid – they think Sarr fouled Caicedo to win the ball … and Craig Pawson is heading to the monitor.
68 mins: Sarr looks to draw contact from Caicedo before going over in stages – the referee’s not interested, and nor should be be.
67 mins: Jackson is booked for an off-the-ball shove, while Noni Madueke is on for Chelsea, replacing Jadon Sancho.
66 mins: From the corner, perhaps Spurs’ best chance yet as the ball ricochets around the area. Unfortunately, it falls to Micky van de Ven, who is off balance and can’t get any power behind his shot. It’s the visitors’ first shot on target, at least.
65 mins: Son, who seems to have shifted to a more central position, plays in Udogie. His cross deflects behind off Chalobah’s hand, but Spurs appeals are waved away, with the Chelsea man sliding on the floor.
64 mins: Johnson and Pape Matar Sarr are on, replacing Odobert and Bergvall, who I thought was far from the worst Spurs performer tonight. The travelling fans don’t love those changes.
62 mins: Can Spurs make the most of that reprieve? Ange is readying substitutes, including Brennan Johnson. Solanke concedes a free kick and while Chelsea try to take it quickly, Craig Pawson isn’t allowing anything so creative on his watch.
61 mins: Palmer makes a couple more dangerous runs down that left channel – you barely see him move, but he always ends up in the right place.
Caicedo goal for Chelsea disallowed
NO GOAL! It’s ruled out – after a couple of minutes’ waiting, Colwill is found to be marginally offside, though the pictures we can see aren’t clear. VAR at its most frustrating.
GOAL? Fernandez’s free kick almost finds Colwill, before Bergvall heads the ball out towards Caicedo – who volleys it first-time into the bottom corner! What a hit! But wait … was Colwill offside? The VAR lines are coming out …
54 mins: At the other end, the industrious Neto is stiff-armed to the floor by Maddison, who may have let frustration get the better of him.
53 mins: Odobert is muscled off the ball by Cucurella, having a very solid evening at left-back.
52 mins: Bergvall tries to push forward but runs straight into Cucurella, and Chelsea break again. Neto’s cross is short of Palmer, and Fernandez tries an ambitious overhead kick from Spence’s header out which loops into Vicario’s hands.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham (Fernandéz 49′)
Well, it had been coming. Spurs again fail to clear their lines from a Chelsea chance, and Palmer gets back on the ball before whipping a perfect cross back across goal. Enzo Fernandez is there to head home from six yards, and Chelsea lead!
49 mins: Cole Palmer twists and turns on the edge of the area and his shot from a tight angle is pushed away by Vicario …
46 mins: Neto moves back from the edge of the area and is pursued by Udogie, who eventually concedes the free kick. Fernandez’s delivery beats a slipping Solanke, but neither Colwill or Caicedo anticipate and connect with the ball. It’s a neat summary of the game so far.
Second half
Here we go again …
“Is it just me or do Chelsea look like a slightly better but still not very effective version of Spurs?” asks Lee Madden. “Neither team look coherent going forward or convincing at the back, and the less said about the goalkeepers the better.”
“I’d like Tottenham down to nine men again, so they finally show some composure while in possession,” sighs Yash Gupta.
Half-time: Chelsea 0-0 Tottenham
Chelsea could conceivably be three goals up, with Guiglelmo Vicario rescuing a shaky first-half display to deny Jadon Sancho with a flying save just before half-time. Nico Jackson and Enzo Fernandez have also gone close; the best news for Spurs is the scoreline. Back soon.
48 mins: Another long ball towards Jackson – it’s definitely been a theme – but Vicario collects. And that’s half-time.
46 mins: Two minutes of stoppage time, but it may be more after that skirmish soaked up a good 90 seconds.
45 mins: The temperature of this game has been lukewarm at best, but there’s a sudden burst of drama here with players on both sides pushing and shoving. It started when Romero (who else?) shoved Colwill over – he gets a booking, as does Chalobah for his reaction.
44 mins: Big save! Chelsea play keep ball before Neto plays a pinpoint cross to Sancho, who swivels and shoots from six yards out – only to see Vicario somehow tip it over the bar! That’s a fantastic save.
43 mins: Palmer scampers forward and finds Neto in space on the right, but the winger slips as he tries to trap the ball.
41 mins: An offside flag is greeted by groans among the home fans, who have seen their side drift a bit after a bright start.
“Re: Tuchel’s phenomenal handshake,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “What will happen if England win the World Cup in New York next year, and Tuchel has to shake hands with Donald Trump? It could be quite the pressing of the flesh (and depressing to the spirit too).”
38 mins: Maddison is flagged offside as he looks to find a teammate in the area, but at least Spurs are offering something going forward.
37 mins: Chelsea deal with the corner and Gusto plays a slide-rule ball through towards Jackson, who is muscled off the ball by Van de Ven. No foul given, and that looks a fair decision.
36 mins: Son does get involved here, a low cross-shot forcing Sanchez to palm the ball out into a dangerous area. Colwill clears but Son then plays in Udogie, who wins a corner.
35 mins: Spence gives away possession but Sancho – who has looked lively if lacking precision so far – is unable to get his shot away.
34 mins: Son, Solanke and Odobert – the Spurs front three – have had the fewest touches of any player so far.
32 mins: Bergvall, probably Spurs’ most likely attacking threat so far, gets into the Chelsea area but sees his shot closed down.
30 mins: Van de Ven is lucky not to be penalised for a foul on Palmer on the edge of the area. Palmer gets back up and links with Sancho to win a corner, which Spurs are able to deal with.
